Birthday Bombshells
by LilyGhost
Summary: Ranger and his men plan separate surprises for Stephanie's birthday, making it a memorable day not only for Stephanie, but for them all. Told from Ranger's POV.


**I was going to wait until Stephanie's actual birthday to post this story, but I finished it sooner than expected so I figured I'd give Ranger and Stephanie a few extra days of celebrating. Anything familiar belongs to Janet. The mistakes are mine. And since this story is being told from Ranger's POV, and includes the Rangemen, there is a little more swearing than usual in it.**

"Hey, Ranger!" Bobby called, stopping my progress to the stairs. "You got a sec?"

"I've got about five seconds," I told him, looking at my watch. "Make it fast."

I was set to help Steph out with an FTA who's known to be a periodic asshole, and I wasn't going to be late and chance leaving her alone with him.

"Are you doing something for Stephanie's birthday?" Bobby asked me.

"Yes. Why?"

"The guys and I want to know if you can share her for an hour or two?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Did you get the go ahead?" Santos asked Bobby as he jogged over to us.

If the men hadn't brought in Emerson and Tido today, I'd swear they had nothing to do to keep their asses busy.

"I was about to," Bobby said to Lester. His eyes moved in my direction. "Wasn't I?"

"Yes."

I wouldn't normally alter my plans for someone other than Stephanie, but this was _for_ her so I'd make an allowance.

"Cool," Santos said. "This is the first year Stephanie's been here for her birthday, and we want to make it a good one."

It _will _be a good one, whether the men do something for her or not considering what I have planned. And it sure as fuck won't be the last birthday she has here with me. I glanced at the two men in front of me and amended my statement. It wouldn't be the last one with me _and_ with this unique group of men who have grown to love her almost as much as I have.

"Let me know what you have in mind and I'll see if can work around it," I told them. "I assume this is supposed to be kept a secret?"

"Yeah," Lester said. "It'll be fun scaring the shit out of Steph."

Looks like Steph was going to get more than one surprise that day. I felt confident that the one I'd spent over a week setting up would be a bigger shock to her than any party my men could dream up.

"Give me the details no later than the end of your shift tomorrow," I told them. "I don't mind you wanting to do something special for Stephanie, but you aren't going to fuck up _my_ plans."

"Since you brought it up," Santos said, "what_ are _your plans?"

"You'll find out after Stephanie does," I told him.

This could work in my favor. If the men were busy trying to keep a secret of their own, my movements wouldn't be as closely monitored. And having Lester or Woody find out about what my night for Stephanie entailed is a surefire way of it no longer being a surprise. Stephanie's grandmother can keep a secret better than those two. I gave the men a nod of dismissal and double-timed it down the five flights of stairs to the garage.

Stephanie and I have been inseparable for just over nine months now, and Stephanie has changed a lot during them. In the amount of time a baby is created, Stephanie and I have created a life together. The core of the woman I've come to know better than myself is unchanged, but Stephanie's confidence has grown, her tolerance for bullshit has lessened, and her performance on every job Vinnie or I have given her has improved tenfold.

Stephanie had acquired a _don't fuck with me _attitude that on one hand relaxes me, while at the same time it makes me harder than hell every time I hear the subtle shift in her tone when someone pisses her off. She's still the same caring and compassionate woman I met years ago, but now she reserves that side of her personality only for the people who deserve it.

Our relationship has undergone some changes as well. Gone were the days of me having control of her feelings towards me. We've even gone so far as to talk about marriage once. I thought I'd throw it out there to try to rattle Stephanie when she'd been chewing my ass out over an unasked for security system I had Hector install in her apartment. In my mind, her safety was more important than the hell I was going to catch for giving Hector the order.

"If you just married me and moved into my building," I'd said to her that day, "I wouldn't have had to go behind your back to protect you."

I waited to see how long it'd take her to back down and let the subject of the extra security go, but Stephanie wasn't about to give in gracefully.

"If I _did_ marry you, and move into your building," Steph said back, "you'd just take the time and money you used to turn my apartment into Fort Knox, and waste it on building an indestructible car and assigning bodyguards instead."

Steph knew me well, because she was exactly right. Still, I wasn't going to let her win this round.

"Did you just mention marriage without backing up to the door with your hand clutching the handle?"

She sighed and I fought back a smile. I had her right where I wanted her. Or so I thought.

"Ranger, the thought of marrying you isn't going to send me running."

"It did every time Morelli brought it up," I reminded her.

"Yes," she said, "because _Joe_ was the one saying it. I couldn't picture spending the rest of my life, or as much of it as I could tolerate, constantly bickering with him everyday or outright fighting every other week. I don't want kids right now, and I wasn't going to let him bully me into something that someone else would have to pay for later on. Namely any kids we would've had together if Joe had gotten his way."

I didn't like that explanation. If I'd waited any longer to convince Stephanie that I wanted her in every way I could have her, that could have been her life. Stephanie, all on her own, had started to see Morelli as the domineering asshole he'd turned into, but Joe might have tried to turn on the charm again to get her back. And could have succeeded.

I made fucking sure that didn't happen this time. Some may say that Joe Morelli is persuasive, but he can't hold a candle - or anything else - to me. As soon as I got word that my life was my own again, I wasted no time seducing Stephanie. Morelli was soon out of the way, and Stephanie became mine for good.

"Morelli didn't get his way_ this _time," I said to her, getting back to our discussion.

"No, he didn't. I was done with him long before we actually ended it. Demanding my key and returning his was just a formality. And I'm not scared of commitment, or even marriage anymore, Ranger. As long as I'm happy with the person I'm with."

I had no real desire to get married again before that moment, but the thought of Stephanie becoming my wife held a certain appeal. I wouldn't have considered it with anyone else.

"You do seem content with me," I said, feeling her out.

"_Content_ doesn't scratch the surface of how I feel with you," Steph said to me.

Stephanie has said she loves me on more than one occasion, but she still has to be prompted to share what she's feeling sometimes. Steph has also accused me of having the same problem, so we've been figuring out how a relationship works together.

"I know, Steph," I told her, pulling her against me.

My dick hardened the second her hips touched mine, but now wasn't the time so I willed it back under control. Which wasn't fucking easy around Stephanie.

"I can prove it if you don't believe me," Steph said, getting my attention in a different way.

That was a challenge I couldn't ignore.

"How exactly would you prove it, Steph? Morelli's history. You've been working practically full-time for my company. And you've already admitted that you love me."

"Okay, Mr. Has-all-the-answers, how about this one ... let's go down to City Hall and apply for a marriage license," she said, surprising the shit out of me.

So much for having the last word on this particular subject.

"It's good for six months," she continued, "so we don't have to do anything right away ... or at all."

I went still as I studied her face. She was serious. And suddenly so was I.

"Get your bag, Babe."

Now she was the one who paused.

"You're going along with this?" She asked me.

"Yes."

"You don't have to, Ranger. I just wanted you to know that I'd do that_ for_, and_ with_, you. No one else."

I didn't miss the fact that I'd had a similar thought five minutes ago.

"And I'm willing to do the same by calling your bluff, so get your things. The car leaves in five minutes."

"I can be there in four," she said, and gave me one hell of a kiss, leaving herself only_ three _minutes to get to the car instead of four.

We applied for a marriage license a half hour later, and had some pretty hot sex shortly after.

I was upping the ante with my birthday present for her. And I have a feeling that she's going to punch me in the gut and then maybe let a tear or two go. If I wasn't sure she'd go for it, I would never have planned a surprise wedding on the roof of the Rangeman building. It took weeks of clandestine phone calls, and a lot of scrambled cameras to accomplish exactly what I wanted to. Now I just had to make sure it was all put together by five o'clock at the latest on the evening of Stephanie's birthday.

Not only did everything go as planned with Fernandez, Steph's skip that day, the unseasonably warm weather held throughout the week so I was able to get the roof set up for part two of our night out. This year's birthday is going to be Stephanie's best one yet, and our anniversary will be a continual reminder of it.

I left work early and took the Turbo across town to Stephanie's building. I parked next to her shitty, two-toned Escort and bypassed the elevator on my way to her apartment. Just to aggravate Steph, I didn't bother knocking. I picked her locks and let myself in. She was standing with her back to me, slightly bent at the waist as she checked to make sure Rex was still breathing. Steph had nothing to worry about there, that hamster has more fucking lives than Santos.

I closed the door silently behind me and let my eyes get their fill. If Stephanie's front looked as good as her back, I was in some serious fucking trouble. She left her hair down, but her curls had separating to expose her mostly bare back. The skirt she was wearing was short, and her legs made my mouth water because I know exactly how they feel around me. The words Steph used to describe my cars, I could also use to describe how she looked tonight. Sleek, sexy, and hot. She was in head-to-toe black and had never looked more dangerous. To my body, and also to my heart. I had to think of Stephanie's Grandma Mazur to get the blood out of my dick and back to my brain before I said fuck the night and decide to take her right there on her kitchen counter with Rex probably running on his wheel beside us.

I was going to give her a night she'll never forget, but the sex part of it will come when my rings are where they belong, and the men have shown her that they are also thankful that Stephanie was born on this day. The only thing Helen Plum did right in my opinion, aside from running over Abruzzi's muscle the day they tried to kidnap Stephanie. That 'rabbit' was fucking lucky that he died the way he had, because if I had been able to get my hands on him, he would have wanted to die ten times over before I actually let him.

"Are you going to just stand there and continue to stare at me?" Stephanie said, looking over her bare shoulder at me. "Or finally come in and tell me that you like what I'm wearing?"

I grinned at her. I couldn't help it. Stephanie never fails to stir emotions in me that I thought got buried with my men in a place I still refuse to talk about. Steph thought I didn't discuss my feelings, she doesn't know that sometimes I _couldn't_. But telling her how beautiful she is, and that I love her, are two things I_ can_ talk about. At length if she needed to hear it.

"You look amazing, Babe," I told her, walking over to where she was and brushing her hair off her neck to gain access to the spot that I know drives her crazy. "But I'm not surprised. You always look beautiful."

She pushed her ass back against me, and I knew she could feel just how sexy I found her, not to mention how bad I want her. When Steph reached her arm up to curl behind my neck, and wiggled her ass a little more, I was caring less about what pet may be watching. I didn't take my lips off of her skin, but I did close my eyes to keep from losing control of the situation. I wanted to show her today that I appreciate her for more than just what she can do between the sheets, or in any of the other interesting places we've had sex in the last few months.

Steph picked up my hand with her free one and brought it up to her breast. Fuck. She was going to end up pressed against her front door if she kept toying with me. I squeezed gently and brushed my thumb across her nipple until she whimpered before releasing her. I took three steps back and a deep breath, which didn't help because I could still smell the subtle scent of her perfume on me and in the air between us. Leaving here is going to be harder than expected.

"Chicken," Steph said, turning to watch my retreat.

She's the only one who would dare call me that. I could tell from her smile that she enjoyed that luxury.

"You need to tone down the hormones, Babe. We have someplace to be and if we don't leave now, the only place I'm going is your bedroom and inside of you," I said, slowly looking her up and down. "And it would be a real shame to waste this outfit on Rex."

"It wouldn't be a waste at all. I'm wearing this for you, and you've already seen it."

I lifted my eyebrow at her.

"Fine," she said to me, picking up her small handbag. "Where are we supposed to be going anyway?"

"You'll see," I said, knowing that if I told her, she'd be arguing the whole way there.

I took the key from her hand, locked up behind us, and pocketed it. Stephanie wasn't coming back here tonight. I draped my arm across her shoulders, walking her to the elevator and then out to my Turbo. I unlocked the car and watched as Steph slid into the passenger's seat. I had to bite back a disappointed sigh when her legs were pressed together again. I closed the door after I noticed her questioning look. It wouldn't be good to stare too long at her, we had hours of company to suffer through before I could do what I was aching to, which is to remove every article of clothing from her body and replace them with my hands and mouth.

Neither of us broke the comfortable silence that had settled between us as I drove to a warehouse owned by an associate of mine just outside of Trenton. I parked and could see Stephanie's curiosity kick in.

"What is this place?" She asked me.

"It's a building, Steph," I told her.

I could hear her eyes roll. Twice.

"I know _that_," she said to me. "A building full of _what_? Shoes? Weapons? Or is it a restaurant, nightclub,_ prison_?"

I can understand her questions. And also her wariness. It was a large, square building with strategically placed windows so no one on the outside could see what was being stored inside.

"None of the above, Steph."

I got out of the Porsche before she could ask anything else. I met her on her side of the car and took her hand as we headed inside. Only a handful of people know about this place, fewer still know Auto. As soon as Steph saw what was on this side of the door, her heels stopped clicking on the tile floor and she took a moment to look around at all the sparkling chrome around us.

"Umm, Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe?"

"Why are we here?" She asked. "Do you need a new car?"

"No," I told her. "_You _do."

Her Escort was due to die any day now. Everyone, except Steph, who looked at it knew it wasn't safe to be riding around in it. I don't want to think about what would happen if her car broke down on Stark Street, or while she was in the process of transporting an FTA to the station. I thought Stephanie would protest less if she considered it a birthday present, but I knew she'd still put up a fight before I convinced her to accept a new car.

"Ranger ..."

"I know you're going to say that I can't spend this much on you, Steph, but it's my money and I'll use it how I want to."

"Jeez, you don't have to go all PMS-y on me," Steph said. "I actually knew this was coming. I was just expecting you to throw me the keys to a fleet vehicle, not tell me to get dressed up and take me to your private Porsche 'distributor'."

"This isn't the only thing I have planned tonight, Babe."

"Ranger, I absolutely forbid you to give me anything else."

"Anything else?" I asked. "Does that mean you'll let me do this for you?"

This is going better than I thought.

"Normally I wouldn't. But for some reason, I think if I say no right now, a car will be parked in my lot tomorrow morning."

Steph was wrong about that. It would have been parked in my garage. There's no way she's spending this particular night in her apartment. If I'm on my best behavior tonight, and my luck holds, Stephanie won't be going back there for anything other than Rex and her things.

"Glad you're finally seeing things my way," I told her.

"Not totally, but I _am _a bit more open-minded now."

This entire night depended on exactly that.

"Hey, Ranger," I heard Auto's voice say. "How the fuck are you?"

"I'm good, Auto. You?"

"I'm hangin' in there. Jack told me that you'd be stopping by today. What are you thinking of getting?"

"That's a question for Stephanie," I told him. "Stephanie Plum, meet Auto Cruz."

I watched with interest as Stephanie took in Auto. We grew up in the same neighborhood, but only got to know each other a few months before I was sent to live with my grandmother in Miami. We took different paths in life for a while, but Auto has been on the straight and narrow for years now. As far as the police were concerned anyway.

I saw Steph's blue eyes size Auto up. From his slicked back hair, olive skin, Armani suit, and tattoo of a skeleton driving a hearse on his neck, Auto didn't look like any car dealer she's ever met, but Steph's immediate smile showed that her instincts are still spot on. Auto is as trustworthy and loyal as they come.

"Nice to meet you, Auto," Steph said, holding out her hand.

"The pleasure is_ all mine_," he told her, flashing her a bright smile which was helped by a diamond chip set into one of his front teeth. "Wait until Jack hears that the infamous car killer is visiting us."

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him. Auto was in deep shit.

"If you'd like to keep your balls where they are," I told him, "you might want to not call Stephanie that."

"I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"_I_ know you didn't mean it that way, but Stephanie doesn't. And she's extremely vengeful when she feels she's been insulted."

"We're going to get along just fine then," Auto said, smiling at Steph again.

Looks like I'm going to need to have 'the talk' with Auto, too. _Friendly _is good._ Flirty _is an invitation to an ass-kicking courtesy of my boot.

"I didn't kill _that_ many cars," Steph said.

"I saw Ranger three times one week."

"Okay ... so I might have had a few bad days in a row."

The door to one of the offices opened and a younger version of Auto came out. He saw me and smiled. Then he saw Stephanie and smiled wider. Great, I was going to have to take out the entire family.

He weaved in between a few cars to reach us.

"Hi, Jack," I said, making Stephanie laugh.

All eyes were on her. Half in question, half in appreciation.

"Sorry," she said, covering her mouth. "But that was funny."

"What was, Babe?"

"You said 'Hi Jack'. There have been rumors floating around the Burg for years that your cars might be hijacked ones, and that's how come you get them so quickly and have so many of them."

She stopped laughing when the three of us went quiet, like she'd uncovered our secret. Her smile faded and her eyes moved back and forth between the three of us.

"Umm ..."

I must be getting soft, because I took pity on her.

"This isn't an illegal business, Babe."

"Is it a completely legal one?" She asked.

"Sure," Auto said.

"Totally legal," Jack added.

"I'm just going to save myself some time worrying and believe you," she told them.

"Jack," I said, "this is Stephanie."

"I thought so," Jack said to me. "She gonna send another one of our cars into orbit?"

"Hah, funny," she said, but she wasn't laughing this time.

Instead of covering his nuts like every other man has learned to do around Stephanie, Jack just smiled.

"You've got the place to yourselves," he told us. "Look around and let us know which one you want. Are you going to have it delivered again? Or are you driving it out of here?"

"Delivered," I told them. "We have some celebrating to do after we leave here."

Their eyes drifted back to Steph.

"I bet you do," Auto said. "I know I'd be celebrating. Lucky bastard."

I didn't need him to remind me of how fortunate I am this year.

Jack and Auto made themselves scarce as Steph and I walked around. The outside of the warehouse looked like any other, but the inside was a well lit, impeccably clean, streamlined showroom. Stephanie's body was relaxed, but she lacked the usual excitement I've seen when she's going shopping at the mall. My guess is that she's still worried that she'd destroy whatever she picked out today.

After ten minutes of looking, Steph sighed.

"I didn't think I'd find something like a Jeep in here, but I was really hoping."

"Steph, don't think about the price, or what could happen to it," I told her. "Just concentrate on what car fits your personality."

"My _real _personality?" She asked. "Or the personality I think I have?"

"Both."

I watched her eyes flick between a Boxster and a Cayenne. They were both good looking vehicles, but I knew she was thinking of the Cayenne as the more logical choice. That settled it for me. I tugged her in the direction of the Boxster.

"Ranger ..."

"If you like this car, then that's the one you're getting. You already have keys to my Cayenne anyway."

"You're nothing if not practical," she told me.

"I'm a lot of other things, too."

"You are. Stubborn and pushy to name two more."

I kissed her to keep her from dwelling on my faults. For what I was about to ask her, I needed her to keep in mind a few of the things that I'm _very_ good at. I let her go and opened the driver's side door of the car. I went around the back of the Boxster and sat in the passenger's seat, turning my body towards her. While she was busy checking out the dash, I pulled a little box out of my pocket. I flipped it open so when she looked over at me, her eyes would connect with the ring I got for her.

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" She asked, her smile fading as her eyes went back and forth between the sparkling diamond and my face.

"You're the one who brought up a marriage license, Babe, are you going to run scared now that a ring has entered the equation?"

I saw the smile in her eyes before it returned to her lips. Good. I hadn't misjudged her. She found my pushing the issue amusing instead of suffocating. I _never_ want her to see Morelli when she looks at me.

"I was just thinking this morning that my finger seemed like it was missing something."

Now it was my turn to smile. She really is incredible.

"Let me fix that," I told her, sliding the ring onto her finger.

As expected, it fit perfectly. It wasn't the diamond that made the moment, it was the fact that she was wearing _my_ ring. Steph would probably call me out on the obviously territorial feeling if she'd been aware of it, but to know that she was agreeing to be with me for the rest of our lives was worth more than the ring and Porsche combined.

"All you had to do was ask, Ranger," she said to me, cupping my jaw in her hand, "and I would have said yes. You didn't need to buy me this." She took her hand off my face to move the ring back and forth on her finger.

"I didn't _have_ to do _anything_, Stephanie," I told her. "And that's why I _want _to do _everything_."

She leaned in the last few inches that had been separating us and kissed me like she meant it. When my body was ready to join the fun, and Steph was close to panting, I broke the kiss with one last brush of my lips across hers. I would end her birthday buried deep inside of her, but there are a few things left that she needs to see before I get her into my bed for plenty of quality alone time.

"This is the best birthday_ ever_," Steph said, making me want to kiss her again.

"The night's not over yet, Babe. I've got something that goes with that ring back at Rangeman."

"A matching necklace?"

"No."

Now I'd give her my other surprise before the men gave her theirs. There is more than a slight chance that she's going to kill all of us for this, but I was confident that when Stephanie thought this day through in hindsight, she'd see that what we did for her, what we continue to do for her, is because each and every one of us love her.

I got out of the car and went to inform Auto and Jack of Steph's choice. Steph was all ears when they promised to have the midnight blue Boxster dropped off at my building tomorrow.

"Why_ your _apartment instead of mine?" Stephanie asked, as we made our way back to my car.

"Because you're staying with me, Steph."

I left the discussion about her not going back to her apartment at all until after the night's festivities were complete.

"I guess it's a good thing that I took care of Rex so I won't have to go back home tonight, isn't it?"

"You have no idea, Steph," I told her.

I took her back to Trenton, and then to the Rangeman building. I knew the men were busy fixing up the second floor for her surprise party. They have no idea that it would also serve as a wedding reception for us. Stephanie won't be the only shocked member of Rangeman tonight.

Steph pressed the seven button, but when the doors opened and she headed to my apartment, I wrapped my hand around her wrist and tugged her towards the stairs to the roof instead.

"What's up there?" She asked. "I thought there's nothing on the roof except _the roof, _and maybe a confused pigeon or two."

"There is a little something extra up there for your birthday, Babe."

"You left my cake on top of the building?" She asked me.

I wasn't sure if she was kidding, or if she really believed that I'd leave the favorite part of her birthday on top of a building.

"Yes," I told her. "Are you going to go rescue it?"

"Heck, yeah."

Fall is Stephanie's favorite season, so I arranged to have the roof decorated with lit candles, small bouquets of roses in deeper shades of red, yellow, and orange, and I made sure an altar that included both was added. I also had a Justice of the Peace set to arrive. And a cake that Steph will probably be talking about more than the wedding itself. The men's plan _had _worked to my advantage. I had them all believing that I was organizing a romantic dinner for Steph in my apartment so she'd be here in the building for them to surprise later on. Fucking amateurs.

I let Steph go ahead of me and hung back to watch her reaction when she walked through the door. She didn't disappoint.

"Is this what I think it is?" She asked, taking a few steps and then turning completely around to glare at me.

"Yes. Was it the altar that gave it away?" I said walking over to her, loving the sparks that were shooting from her eyes. "Or the flowers and candles? Maybe it's the cake that looks more like a wedding cake than a birthday cake that tipped you off."

"Don't make me hit you, Ranger, because I'm three seconds away from doing it."

I smiled. She would, too. Good thing I like a woman who's not afraid to get a little rough.

"So you planned to buy me a car, sort of propose, and marry me all in a matter of two hours?"

"You know my motto, Babe. Go big or go home."

"You don't have a motto," she told me. "And if you did, it would have some sexual reference hidden in it."

"I did say "go_ big_", Steph. And you know very well that I have plenty of things that are_ big_."

"Your wallet obviously."

"Babe ..."

My credit limit wasn't what I'd been referring to.

She rolled her beautiful blue eyes at me.

"Fine, if you're going to be all sensitive about it," she said. "_That's_ also big. _Huge_ even."

My arm reached out and yanked her to me, and I kissed her until her lips were doing something other than laughing at me. The buzzing in my pocket was suddenly competing with the throbbing in my dick, so I let Steph breathe while I checked my cell. The Justice of the Peace was here. I gave Gene down on the first floor a load of bullshit as to who the guy was and told Gene where to send him.

"Ranger ... seriously," Steph said, looking down at her halter top, black skirt, and the sexy as hell heels she'd chosen to wear, "this is as opposite as I can get to a wedding dress."

"That's why it's perfect. Don't forget, Babe, you _are_ wearing a little bit of lace," I told her, sliding my fingertips across the lace on her skirt where it met her skin.

Steph, not letting me out flirt her, leaned in close so her lips lightly brushed my ear, making my dick resemble granite again. The fucking thing is going to snap off if she kept this up.

"This skirt isn't the only thing lacy covering me tonight."

Fuck. The woman was going to kill me.

While the thought of taking her right then and there was a tempting one, I don't want to share any private moments I have with Stephanie with anyone else.

"I will be uncovering _every_ inch of you to find it, Steph," I promised her, "but the man who will be marrying us - if you agree to it - should be here any second, so the exploration will have to wait."

"If I say no to marrying you," Steph said to me, "do I still get to keep the cake?"

"No," I told her.

She knew I didn't mean it, but Steph is always ready for a little wordplay, usually followed by _a lot _of foreplay.

I tuned back in just in time to hear what I'd call an exaggerated sigh.

"The cake looks really, _really_ good," she said, checking out the two-tiered, buttercream-frosted vanilla cake, before running her eyes all over me, "so I'm going to say ... what the heck is taking this guy so long?"

"What would your answer have been if I forgot to get a cake?"

"I'd say the exact same thing, Ranger," she told me, "so where's the guy already?"

"He's right behind you, Babe," I told her.

She turned her head and saw Emilio Hayden standing in the doorway smiling at her.

"Jesus," Steph said, "does everybody have the ability to sneak up on me?" She paused. "Shit, maybe I shouldn't have said _Jesus_."

"It's okay, Steph. He's not a priest. And I'm sure Emilio has heard worse."

"I have," he said to me. "Daily. I've even said worse myself."

"It's not polite to lie to a lady, Emilio."

"Jeez, is there anyone you _don't_ know?" Steph asked me.

"I'm a popular person, Babe."

She sighed.

"What? You don't believe me?" I asked her, running the backs of my fingers across her cheek.

"Oh, I believe you one hundred percent. You're kind to those who deserve it. You have a ready solution for just about any problem, especially if those problems involve stalkers. And you're not hard to look at either."

"Are those your requirements for a husband, Steph."

"Those are just a few of them," she said to me. "Luckily, you fit all the other requirements, too."

"I guess this is where I come in," Emilio said. "You two sound ready to commit to each other."

"We are," Steph said. "Even if one of us decided to surprise the shit out of the other one." She smacked her head with the palm of her hand. "I probably shouldn't be swearing right now."

"You're fine, Babe. You're a good person, and everyone knows it. You just can't stop that sexy mouth of yours. And I for one am extremely happy about that."

"Do you want me to do what you called me for?" Emilio said to me, being the smartass that I know well. "Or do you two want to handle this yourselves?"

"You two must know each other _real _well," Stephanie said.

"We go back a few years," I told her.

Seven be exact. Emilio's the man who married my sister Celia and her husband, and he has since worked his way into the Manoso family. And Emilio had been glad to help me out when I called to arrange this.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Steph?" I asked her.

To me, this is just one more day in our already solid relationship, but I didn't want her to feel pressured to do something she wasn't ready for.

"Yep. I'm good," she said, picking up my hand in both of hers.

And that was the end of our 'single' lives. I took her new engagement ring off her finger only long enough to add the thin diamond band. I handed Stephanie the wedding band I'd picked out for myself and watched her slide it in place. I knew the ring wasn't going to leave my finger after today. Stephanie might complain about my possessive nature, but she has a sizable jealous streak of her own. And knowing that she felt that way about me made me love her more. People have repeatedly tried to use me, seduce me, or intimidate me with no success, but this blue-eyed, curly-haired brunette had me happy to let her attempt all three anytime she wanted.

When we were officially married, I sank my fingers deep into Stephanie's hair and kissed her until my lungs screamed for oxygen. And my lungs weren't the only part of my body threatening to explode by the time I let her go. Steph looked dazed when I did, and Emilio smiled at us indulgently. If he wasn't a man of God, I would have kicked his ass. We both thanked him before Emilio took the stairs and elevator back down to the garage. I felt safe letting him leave, too. Emilio wouldn't tell my family anything about what went on here tonight until Steph and I have the chance to tell my parents ourselves.

When I asked if Steph wanted cake now, she suggested we bring it to the control room and share with the guys. Little did she know, they wanted to share something with _her. _When she made a move to pick up the cake plate, I took it out of her hands.

Steph cut her eyes to me.

"Cake tease," she said, glaring again.

"I'll have someone come get it in a minute, Steph," I assured her, and set it back down on the table between two of the largest rose arrangements.

"Why? I know it's probably hard to believe, but I can carry it downstairs without eating all of it."

"I'm sure you can, Babe, but there's one more thing I want to show you."

"Crap, you didn't buy me a house did you? I already have a new car, two rings, and a husband. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing left."

"It's not a house," I told her, leaving the roof with Steph and punching the button for the second floor on the elevator.

"_Second _floor?" She asked.

"Yes."

"What the heck is down there?" She paused, and I saw the moment when an idea popped into her head. "You didn't buy me a house, you're giving me my own office here at Rangeman, aren't you?"

"Think about that, Babe. Do you really think I'd put you that far away from me?"

"No, I guess not," she said, obviously thinking again, but not coming up with another reason to be on the second floor. "If that's not it, why are we here?"

The elevator doors opened before I had to lie to her, and all I heard was the sound of at least twenty men yelling _"freeze"._

Steph shrieked in return. I'll have to check my ears for blood if this continued.

"Happy Birthday, Steph," Lester said, when everyone was finally able to hear again.

A round of 'happy birthdays' went up through the room, and Steph still hadn't taken her hand off her chest, or closed her mouth for that matter.

"It's a surprise party for you, Babe. Not a drug raid."

"You could have fooled me," she said, just starting to breathe normally again.

"What's wrong, Steph?" Lester said. "Anybody can yell _surprise_, but this is a surprise party Rangeman-style."

"I can see that," Steph told him. "Now I know firsthand how your skips feel."

"No way, Steph," Bobby said, "we don't throw parties for those assholes."

"But you wanted to throw one for me?" She asked, finally relaxing and looking around the rooms.

I had to admit, for a bunch of hardcore, ex-military specialists, they turned out a pretty fucking good spread. The ceilings in this and all adjacent rooms were completely covered by floating balloons in black, white, and silver. Granted, it looked a little more like a New Year's Eve party than a birthday party, but the overall effect was undoubtedly festive. The balloons were all the same size, and the ribbons dangling from them were exactly the same length. I could tell that was Hal's contribution. He may seem laid back, but Hal is fanatical about consistency and accuracy. The sheet cake was sitting in a place of honor in the center of a large folding table directly in front of us. It was about the size of a football field, covered in pink and white roses. That was the only completely feminine thing I could see besides Steph herself. As long as Stephanie's gifts stayed away from anything overtly feminine - like lingerie - I wouldn't say anything. Speakers were sending out Latin music, instantly creating a party vibe. The men actually hadn't done bad at all.

"Is that a table full of my go-to foods?" I heard Steph ask.

"Yeah," Cal said. "You're not exactly shy about expressing what you like ..."

"So we got every food, snack, and dessert we've seen you eat or order when one of us has been out with you," Junior said to her.

"Pizza, nachos, meatball subs, chips, and doughnuts," Zip said. "It's all there."

"And we got you a huge cake from Tasty Pastry," Binkie told Steph. "I made sure they added a bunch of those frosting roses you like."

That explained why the cake was pink. Binkie was still at an age where he thinks all things regarding women should be pink. If Lester or Cal had been in charge of the cake, it would have either been hideous with every color you can imagine thrown on it, or completely devoid of anything except the words happy birthday scrawled across it.

"Yay! More cake," Steph said. She turned to me. "And you're not taking this one away from me."

"_More_ cake?" Lester asked. "Who was fucking with our plans?"

"Watch your mouth, Santos," I told him.

Steph smiled at him. "_Ranger_ messed with your plans," she told him.

"But you knew we were going to do this for Stephanie," Bobby said to me. "Why would you go ahead and buy her a birthday cake, too?"

"You said you were doing dinner," Woody said, obviously disgruntled.

"Idiots," Tank said to them all.

I agreed with Tank on this one. I hadn't filled Tank in on my exact plans for Steph's birthday, but he sensed something big was going to go down on it.

"_Dinner_?" Steph said, looking over at me. "I didn't get any dinner."

"You got something better, Babe."

"Yeah,_ two _cakes. Who needs a steak or pasta when I can have birthday cake with a wedding cake chaser? Or maybe it'll be a piece of wedding cake with a birthday cake chaser."

I was helpless to stop the grin that spread across my face at the _what the fuck _looks everyone except Tank were wearing. He smiled at Stephanie and then nodded to me. A Tank seal of approval. He's grown to care for Stephanie along with everybody else. It'd take him a bottle of tequila to admit it though, but Steph had figured him out a long time ago.

"_Wedding_ cake?" Lester asked.

"Who got married?" Ram said, stepping closer.

The music was turned off and all conversation ended. The calm before the impending storm.

"We did?" Steph told everyone, showing them her sparkling ring finger.

I had found the perfect ring for her. The diamond was large, the band was small, and she could damage someone's face with it if she worked on her left hook. I chose a simple titanium band for myself, but I went all out for Stephanie's rings. They'd have to be the best to hold up to all the manhandling they were about to receive.

"Get the fuck out!" Bones said, voicing all the men's reactions, obviously still in shock himself.

"Close your mouth, Bones," I said to him. "And clean it up while you're at it."

"But how? _When_?" Bobby asked me.

"You told me you wanted me to keep Stephanie busy," I told him.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to marry her to do it," Santos said.

I took a step back so Stephanie would have a clear path to him. She landed a decent right jab on his bicep.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "You think Ranger shouldn't have married me?"

"Go get 'em, Babe," I told her.

"Of course not," Bobby said, trying to save Santos' ass again. "We all mentioned at one time or another how marriageable you are."

"Is that even a word?" Steph asked him.

"I think so," Bobby told her. "So what the hell happened?"

"There was a challenged, an ante, and then a big payoff," Steph said.

"That's it?" Zero asked her. "There's gotta be more to the story."

She blew out a sigh, making my eyes focus on her lips. I'd have them wrapped around me soon enough. I had to remind myself that this night is supposed to be about _Stephanie_, not about what I want to do to her. Not yet, anyway.

"Ranger and I got a marriage license awhile ago," Steph explained, "and Ranger decided to pop the question while we were sitting in my new car."

"Sneaky bastard," Tank said, smirking at me.

I'll have to work in some extra gym time Monday morning to teach Tank about respecting his employer. We've been friends for so long that I knew it would last only until lunch, but I felt it was necessary at times to make sure Tank remembers who's really in charge here.

"Wait," Santos told Steph. "When did this happen?"

"This afternoon," she said.

"And the wedding?" Bobby asked.

"About a half hour ago," Steph told Bobby.

"So while we were getting the last of this set up," Santos said, "you two were upstairs swapping rings."

"Yes," I told him. "Who's surprised now?"

"Still me," Stephanie said, wrapping her arm around mine and linking our fingers.

"Vince, you and Ramon can go up to the roof and bring down Steph's cake," I told them, "and add it to the heart attack table. And while you're up there, you can blow out all the candles. We don't need the TFD joining the party."

"Ranger, my food will only cause a heart attack if you eat it everyday," Stephanie said, before squeezing my hand. "And it's _our_ cake."

"Who will be the one eating the cake, Babe?" I asked her.

"_Me_, and maybe a few of the guys for being so sweet in planning this for me._ Your _reward will come a little later, but it will be just as good. I promise."

"The lace again?" I asked, picturing her wearing a lace thong, a smile, and nothing else.

"Yup," she said, kissing me before turning back to the group when Vince and Ramon returned a few minutes later with the cake I had ordered for her, and the bottle of champagne that had been next to it.

"Are you ready to celebrate, Steph?" I asked her.

"What are we celebrating?" She asked. "My birthday? Or this new phase of our relationship?"

"Both, Babe," I said, pulling her to me for a very thorough kiss.

Her lips were slightly swollen when I lifted my head. Steph's eyes stayed locked on mine even as she spoke to Bobby.

"Bobby, cut me a piece of both cakes," she said, "I'm going to need all the sugar I can get to make it through this party."

I understood what Stephanie was telling me. She'd like to rip my clothes off, just as much as I wanted to strip her naked right now, thrust into her, and never separate our bodies again.

"Only a couple of hours to go, Babe. Stay strong."

"I'm trying," she said into my ear, "but you're looking particularly hot right now."

"That's the lack of sugar talking, Steph," I said.

"No, that's _me_ talking, but I'll control myself."

"Only until we get back upstairs," I told her.

Nothing is sexier than Stephanie losing control of her moans and of her body.

"It's a deal."

Bobby handed her a full plate, and gave us each a glass of champagne. Hector remoted the music back up and Steph and I watched the men interact without having to draw weapons for a chance, or coming to blows. Vince and Ramon stayed in charge of the food. Lester was manning the gift table, which was piled high with God knows what. And the rest of the men - along with Ella and Louis who were a little late to the party and the surprises - were filling up the areas in between. It was clear to both Steph and I that everyone was enjoying the party just as much as she was.

Steph distracted me by feeding me a forkful of cake before digging in herself. I didn't mind her attention shift, it gave me a chance to just watch her having a good time, even if she had to be wearing clothes, and surrounded by other men, while she was. After five minutes, Steph caught me staring so I stopped watching and starting touching again. I bent my head to hers and licked a tiny bit of frosting from the center of her bottom lip before drawing back. Steph sighed, put her plate and our glasses down on the small table behind her, and curled her arms around my neck.

"You know what?" Steph said, smiling up at me. "I think I hit the birthday jackpot this year."

"No, Babe," I told her, cupping her face in my hand and tracing her lips with my thumb, "_I_ did."

**A/N: I wanted to say a big thank you to margaret aka whymelucylu for giving me the idea of a Rangeman surprise party, and for convincing me that I should not only keep Ranger and Stephanie's engagement in this story, but also add in a wedding, too. **


End file.
